Joshua Dowling

BMW 3-Series wagon

Meet the salad sandwich of the automotive world. If this car were food it would be the “healthy choice” in a fast food burger joint.

The 3-Series wagon is BMW’s sensible option in a showroom of temptation in the form of SUVs.

Australians continue to buy SUVs, softroaders and faux-wheel-drives in record numbers as such vehicles become more affordable, more economical and more stylish.

Against this king tide BMW is attempting to woo buyers with a conventional wagon – for those who might not want one of the four different types of four-wheel-drives it offers.

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Despite its sleek proportions, the new BMW 3-Series wagon has more cargo space than the BMW X1 softroader (which is, incidentally, based on the previous model 3-Series wagon).

According to the stats the X1 has 420 to 1350 litres of cargo-carrying capacity while the new 3-Series has a (claimed) class-leading 495 to 1500 litres for goods and chattels.

The X1 is narrower and shorter, too.

The new 3-Series wagon is marginally more economical – at least until the updated X1 arrives in October with the same 8-speed automatic transmission.

And yet despite these compelling figures, buyers don’t seem to care.

The previous 3-Series wagon didn’t exactly bolt out the door, accounting for just 4 per cent of the previous model’s sales in Australia.

In Germany, where wagons are seen as cool, they represent roughly half of all 3-Series sales.

“The culture is completely different in Australia,” says BMW spokesman Scott Croaker. “There is a very different level of acceptance [of conventional wagons].”

There are several reasons for our love affair with SUVs and they’re worth recapping.

According to marketing experts, the rugged exteriors of SUVs tell the world we can escape this mess anytime we want to – even if we’re stuck in the traffic with everyone else.

We also embrace their tall driving position (which helps us navigate the perils of the daily grind) and the feeling – rightly or wrongly – of invincibility

The killer blow to conventional wagons, however, is price.

Just as fast food chains tend to charge more if you want to eat healthy, conventional wagons are dearer than their junk food SUV cousins.

A BMW X1 can be had for less than $45,000. But when the new BMW 3-Series wagon goes on sale in early 2013 it will cost in excess of $60,000.

The materials, fit and finish are a bit better on the 3-Series, and there are a few more gadgets, but not $15,000-plus worth.

We’d like to tell you more about how well the new BMW 3-Series wagon handles the rigours of winding roads and the daily commute – but the preview drive in Munich this week was held on roads so smooth, bland and unchallenging we did not encounter one bump.

Actually, that’s a lie. We drove over the lip of a driveway to park the car.

Car makers go to great lengths to select roads that flatter their cars on media previews. BMW couldn’t have done any better if it tried.

Surprise, surprise, the 3-Series wagon drives superbly on the roads within a 50km radius of where it was developed.

I did get one bump after I made a wrong turn, and it didn’t feel good. But I’m not prepared to hang it for that. I will save that for an argument when I get back to the office.

The Drive office is divided on the recently-released new-generation 3-Series sedan. Half of us think it’s fabulous, and half of us (including me) think there is still room for improvement – still too sharp on some bumps thanks to the run-flat tyres.

In the meantime, if you might be prised away from an SUV, what you need to know about the new BMW 3-Series wagon is this:

It weighs 40kg less than before, but 70kg more than the latest sedan;

This means it weighs about the same as a BMW X1 (1520 to 1595kg);

The rear bumper has a lower load height than the BMW X1 (62cm);

The turning circle in either car is still not brilliant (X1 = 11.8m, 3 Series wagon = 11.3m);

BMW Australia will release the 320i and 318d versions of the 3-Series wagon (2.0-litre turbo petrol and 2.0-litre turbo diesel respectively) in February 2013;

Prices are yet to be confirmed but expect them to cost in excess of $60,000;

The model we drove was the 328i powered by a high output 180kW/350Nm version of the 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine;

34 comments so far

Seriously they are delusional and I hope Europe implodes and sales of BMW and the fellow looneys all plummet. The most pathetic thing is that people still will pay through the nose to own one just for the snob value.

Commenter

daffy

Location

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 8:37AM

Or maybe people will pay more for something other than snob value like, I dunno, maybe a great handling car with a lovely refined finish (in and out) and with as great (or greater) a carrying capacity as many midget sized 4wds that clog city streets without ever putting one wheel in the mud? Just a thought.

Commenter

Frog

Location

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 9:19AM

Wow! I feel sorry for you daffy.I assume by your judgement others and your assumption that they buy their cars with the sole purpose that they can impress others with their snob value, that you must only also purchase your transport based on what people think of you.Narcissistic much?

Commenter

greco

Location

Mel

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 10:35AM

...probably the most pathetic thing, is people thinking people who buy BMW's are "snobs".

The reality of it is, BMW, are a long established, luxury premium brand, that have pushed their brand to more affordable segments.

Hugely successful.

What's your beef with that? Take a look at the clock, in a BA Fairmont Ghia....

Commenter

Timothy

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 11:00AM

Truth is, daffy; a lot of people could not really give a damn what you or anyone else thinks. I am one of them. I would purchase a BMW for the purely selfish reason of wanting to impress myself.

Commenter

Mr. Problem

Location

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 11:15AM

As long as the sun comes up, there will be people who will pay a premium for luxury goods, either to make themselves feel better or to distinguish themselves from their peers. And there will also be knockers who decry the consumption of luxury goods for a variety of reasons, not least being they cannot afford the goods themselves.

Commenter

PerverTT

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 2:34PM

Ever driven one daffy?

Commenter

Evan

Location

Perth

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 3:29PM

Estate cars, or in the American or Australian vernacular station wagons, are the optimal, practical family car with safety, fuel efficiency and good handling which makes them as fun to drive as non-estate cars. That is why there are so many all over the place in northern European countries.

Of course, they are less likely to sell well in a country such as Australia where the roads are so poor that an SUV or ute is almost obligatory just to prevent early arthritis from the pot holes and where fuel prices are relatively cheap so nobody worries about the l/km.

Commenter

DRM

Location

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 10:16AM

I agree with you re wagons.

However, I think the reason why the BMW wagons dont sell is price. Firstly, most wagons are bought by families so pricing is an issue in part. Secondly, and more importantly, why pay $60k+ for a BMW wagon when there are some very good wagons for under $50k (Passat, Subarus, Skoda, even the Mondeo).

I know the same thing can be said for sedans and that people still buy BMWs regardless. However, I think if you are buying a wagon you are accepting some level of compromise in handling or speed or whatever, because space is more important than those other measures. So the difference or improvement offered by a BMW wagon over other wagons just isnt important enough to justify the extra money.

And, of course, if space is the most important issue for you then you move to the SUV category and can get a lot of car for $60k. Might be even more compromised in other areas, but its a question of priority.

Commenter

asdf

Location

Date and time

July 10, 2012, 11:42AM

Sad fact is that Europe are in love with small SUVs with sales growing faster than overall vehicle sales in Europe. Most see wagons as a typical company driver vehicle with BMW 3 series in Britain leading the way